Lucy Vs Australopiths

Ardipithecus has been discovered, an Ancestor that dates back prior to the remains of Lucy. In the article written by Ann Gibbons and others, it dives into the discovery of our most ancient ancestor and the clues given to us from all 110 remains that have been found of A. ramidus. First let me begin with Lucy whose remains were found in 1974 and that dated back to 3.2 million years ago. These skeletal remains gave us the evidence needed to prove that our ancient ancestors were bipedal before evolving their big brains. After Lucy was discovered the scientist found themselves with even more questions, such as, were any previous ancestors before Lucy bipedal or did

Australopithecus Afarensis: Even longer face, cranial capacity looks even more disproportionate with face, cheekbones are very distinctive

‘Lucy’ was exposed by Donald Johanson, an anthropologist, with his team, went to survey Hadar in Ethiopia during the late 1970s for signs in understanding Human origins. On November 24, 1974 by the Awash River, Donald’s’ plan for the day was to update his notes but decided otherwise when one of his students, Tom Gray, joined him to find fossil bones. Both of them were on the hot waterless plains examining the sandy terrain when a fossil was spotted; it turned out to be an arm bone fragments on a slope. As they looked closer, more and more bones were found, including a jaw, arm bone, a thighbone, ribs, and vertebrae. Donald and Tom had cautiously examined the limited skeleton and calculated that a remarkable 40% of a hominid skeleton was salvaged,

2) Lucy is a collection of fossils from an early hominid species that is over 3 million years old. Lucy's fossils were discovered in Ethiopia, and Lucy was also very short compared to the average modern

As her named suggests, Lucy came from the Australopithecus genus, and was a member of the Hominini tribe, just like

Introduction: Ardi, Lucy, and Ötzi show many similarities and differences in their bipedality, teeth, tool usage, and cranial sizes, which have all advanced over time due to evolution. All three species are immensely diverse in the ways they survive and act. From Ardi to modern day humans, these ancestors have slowly adapted more human like traits to manipulate their environments. These changes are shown in each species tool usage, brain size, teeth, and ability to walk on two legs. With respect to these categories, Ardi and Lucy are very similar due to them living in the same environment.

Lastly, we come to Homo erectus which date back from 1.8 million years to about 200,000 years ago. Homo erectus has been found in Africa and Asia which makes it the first wide ranging species of its kind (Human Evolution). Despite the look of Homo erectus’s skull it was very similar body structure to that of a humans. Homo erectus is also thought to be the first hominid to use fire and have a true sence of culture (Human Evolution). Though it was probably dramatically different than what we see

Ardipithecus and other early Australopithecines lived in a habitat much wetter than the environment of Aramis, Ethiopia today. The set for scene one could at times experience a “rain fall,” and should include a woodland habitat with patches of denser forest and an abundant amount of monkeys just as what would have been seen between five and three million years ago. In 1992, an expedition led by Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley discovered the fossil of Ardipithecus ramidus, dating back to 4.4 million years ago. The skeleton nicknamed “Ardi” ended up weighing around 112 pounds, stood almost four feet tall, (somewhat larger than a male chimpanzee but smaller than a female gorilla) and was most likely a female. Ardi’s ape sized brain has a cranial capacity of only 300 to 350 CC.

1. How did Australopithecus differ from other mammals? Australopithecus is differ from other mammals by Australopithecus lived from 4 million to 1 million B.C. ago, found in southern and Eastern Africa, have brain size of 500 cubic centimeters, and they are the first creature to know how to walk upright. 2.

In terms of lower limb proportions comparing Australopithecines and Paranthropus, only a few post cranial remains have been discovered. Comparing the post cranial remains of these genera to those of modern day non-human and human apes can give great insight to the locomotion and stature of Paranthropus and Australopithecines.

The earliest known and accepted fossils are categorized as Australopithecus or the southern ape. A well known and famous fossil known as Lucy belongs to this fossil group, fossils of Australopithecus's have been found in areas such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Chad, and South Africa and are dated as far back as 4.2 - 2.3 MYA. These primates are known as bipedal apes meaning they walked upright, members of this primate group also had facial features that were apelike, had brains half the size of chimpanzees, and weighed on average of one-hundred and five pounds. It is thought these primates adapted to arboreal and terrestrial environments because dental exams of their teeth indicate a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and leaves. On the contrary members of the Paranthropus primates have fossils that have also been recognized these fossils have been found in places like: Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa which are dated as far back as 2.8 - 1MYA. This species was thought

The changes in morphology that resulted from selection for bipedalism included a readjustment of the pelvis and changes in the major locomotive muscle attachments. Habitual bipedalism necessitated a reduction in the gap between the sacroiliac joint and acetabulum, with a reduced sagittal breadth. Though the pelvis of early hominids differs from that of modern humans, but still had the traits necessary for habitual bipedalism. The Australopithecine pelvis is more similar to humans than to chimpanzees (Lovejoy, 1988): The blade of the illium is longer and wider in chimpanzees than in Australopithecus or Homo. This obvious difference is due to the functions of the pelvis in each species’ body, like being a weight bearing bone versus. Australopithecus afarensis, particularly Lucy, had a mosaic of anatomical traits featuring both human and apelike features. The short pelvis and broad iliac blades which curve around the side forming the area of gluteal muscle attachment confirmed that Au. afarensis was at least a habitual biped (Lovejoy,

The book identifies “Lucy” as an ancient demonstration of bipedalism and a bowl-shaped pelvis. Her species, Australopithecus afarensis, had both ape-like and human features. The adaptations she exhibited are an example a further branching off of species. Aside from bone structure, I found it logical that early hominids

Bipedalism is one of the big six events that happened in the evolution of humans becoming what we are today. Bipedalism means standing, walking on two feet rather than walking on four feet like the other apes our primate family tree. To understand why humans walk using bipedalism anthropologist must look into the past. One of the most significant fossil evidence of bipedalism is a fossil named “Lucy”. Lucy was found in East Africa. She is an adult female that stood at about three and a half feet. Lucy is a significant find because she was the most complete fossil. Forty percent of her body was found, making her the most complete fossil for bipedalism. It is accepted that there is a close relation to the environment for the reason to why there

The definition of primitive is “relating to, denoting, or preserving the character of an early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something” (Google definition). In initial stages of human existence, bipedalism was an efficient form of movement across long distances, this allowed the use of hands to carry items or to fight and hunt. Bipedalism might have smoothed the way for other adaptations such as tool use, cognitive skills, even the development of language. “Hominids that came after Lucy, such as Homo habilis from 2.5 million years ago or Homo erectus, from 1.8 million years ago, perhaps exhibited some of these traits. They each certainly possessed a larger skull -- and thus the potential for a larger brain -- than Lucy